The Archive
Let nothing get in the way of knowledge
Influence
The Archive is a vast, multi-realm organization spanning hundreds of thousands of years. Even their meticulous recordkeeping hasn't found an agreeable Founding Date. That being said, the Archive is an organization that generally holds itself above planar law and is a law unto itself. This is owed mostly to the fact that the Prime and Master Archivists themselves are influential people in their own right, weilding social, economic, political, or military power established seperate from the Archive that they can then use in their Archivist endeavors.The Archivists never fail to infect a Realm once they have discovered it, and Vyril is no exception. While the organization is not native to Vyril, the Archivists have been around long enough that they are firmly entrenched in many of the different cultures ruling classes. They keep their identity and affiliation a secret so as not to make themselves a target.
Most organizations and political regimes want nothing to do with the Archive or the Archivists, especially because they tend to operate outside of cultural and national laws. Thus, most Archivists are hunted or jailed once found out.
The only place the Archivists and Archive are not a secret are on Corrsym, in the Payral Empire. Seated in the Capitol of Kalep Faction, there is an immense library that is openly operated by the Archive, where a portal can be opened to Namkural and Torresind. This is the only active, public portal to the two other realms. Though the Archive does monitor and control the flow of traffic, it isn't exactly difficult to gain access.
Structure
Prime Archivist
These are few and far between. The most important members of The Archive. They hold sway over the entire organization and usually socially, politically, economically, and/or militarily of the area they live in. The selection process for a Prime Archivist is incredibly secretive - most don't know how to become one.In reality, Prime Archivists title themselves. They have the power and influence they have because others cannot refute the claim. Other Prime Archivists will usually check them out or test them, to ensure they are capable of holding or maintaining their title.
Prime Archivists maintain vasts libraries of collected information, menageries of animals, and conservatory of exotic and endangered plants from a plethora of realms.
Senior Archivist
A step below Prime, they set up and manage the various Archives that exist among the realms. These, too, are generally self titled. Wealthy, independantly so, and influential members of the world apart from the Archive. Frequently leading double lives. A Senior Archivist will usually have a Prime they occassionally report to, but they are by in large the bulk of the stored and obtained knowledge of the Archive itself. They, too, may have a collection of animals and plants.Master Archivist
These Archivists oversee departments, which can range from a species they are to study, to a country they are stationed in. They are appointed by a Senior Archivist and work directly for them.Archivists
They are the Archivists who usually work personally with the Master Archivist, usually in a library, conservatory, or menagerie. Taking care of the gathered information, processing it and scribing it into an organized form. They tend to old records and manage whatever administrative affairs the Archive itself might need. The main work force of the Archive.Field Archivists
These Archivists are usually sent out by a Master Archivist to a location to gather intel and scout out new locations, gather speciman for study and bring them back to the Archive, or run any other errand the Archive or Master Archivist might need of them. They are usually equipped to travel at a moment's notice and are accompanied by a Protector. They are the ones who bring it rough drafts for the Archivists to sort and scribe into proper informantional documents and records.Apprentice
Entry level in all the various departments, they act as student, mentee, and assistant in whatever department they are assigned. A step above entry level, Apprentices are usually tasked with Archive sensitive busy work.Scribe
Could also be considered secretaries. They are usually the face to the public and the caretakers of the Archive in a more mundane sense. They clean, manage house affairs, run errands, and do all the menial tasks that might be asked of them. Some know they are working for the Archive, some don't.Selection Process
Archivists are recruited by other Archivists. Most are picked up at a young age and taken in as Scribes or Apprentices - depending on where they are, what department, and the nature of the jobs present. Some will never advance beyond their entry level, and some never want to. Other, more ambitious sort will throw themselves into the Archive with a fervor and climb the ranks, but it is a long, arduous process.Protectors
Protectors are a branch of the Archive, but almost set aside from the Archive itself. They are the military branch of the Archive, but in complete service to the Archivists. Protectors are, as the name suggests, the might and magic that keeps the Archivists safe, that escort the Field Archivists around the realms, that staff a Master Archivists home, that serve a Senior Archivist without fail, and are all a Prime Archivist will trust to watch their back.They are an elite group of warriors, magic users, assassins, theives, kidnappers and, in some instances, babysitters. Once an Apprentice graduates or advances into the rank of Archivist or Field Archivist, they are assigned one Protector. This person is their shield against the world at large. Their right hand in all things and, at times, a servant. Their world revolves around the Archivist they are assigned.
Protectors are from all over, from all walks of life. Some are born into it, and take it up as a matter of family tradition and honor, while others seek the fame and glory of attending to an elite in such a powerful, albeit secretive, organization. Once in, though, there is no leaving the Archive. There is no quitting the Protectors. No abandoning your post or charge. The penalty for such a thing is death - and no one has ever escaped the Archive.
Protectors operate under a base schooling system, where they are taught to read, write, languages, maths, and etiquette where needed until they advance into a mentorship program when they start to learn combat training and horsemanship. Only once their mentor is satisfied are they granted the title Protector and assigned to an Archivist.
Knight on Horseback by Robin Har
"Once I stopped asking 'where are we going' and 'what are we doing', we actually started to get along. It's my job to focus on the 'how' of it, anyway. How do we get there, how long will it take and what will we need... How are we going to eat for the next week. Things like that. Practical things. I have no idea what she spends all day writing, but she'd walk off without food or a clue on how to get to the next town without me. They weren't kiddin' when they said this was going to be one part fighting, two parts babysitting."
- Casual conversation with a Protector
Knowledge Above All
Headquarters
Kalep Faction, Payral, Corrsym
The Great Library by Chris Ostrowski
Leader Title
Prime ArchivistOrigins
The Archive and Archivists arrived from another major realm some tens of thousands of years ago. The first Archive was set up in Kalep Faction, on Corrsym."The time will come when diligent research over long periods will bring to light things which now lie hidden. A single lifetime, even though entirely devoted to the sky, would not be enough for the investigation of so vast a subject... And so this knowledge will be unfolded only through long successive ages. There will come a time when our descendants will be amazed that we did not know things that are so plain to them... Many discoveries are reserved for ages still to come, when memory of us will have been effaced."
- Seneca, Natural Questions
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